This is a good question. I'm from Kansas, so we have lower densities in terms of actual square miles, though the deer will be more concentrated into the smaller patches of timber and cover. I'm used to only seeing a few deer a season, so I would not be concerned if I wasn't seeing them immediately or went several days without one coming by.
Here's what I'd do if I was in the big woods: I'd stillhunt, quite fast at first, as much as anything to cover ground to locate sign and/or deer. Once I got an idea of where the deer move through, I'd either set up downwind or stillhunt at the usual superslow, creeping pace that successful stillhunters employ.